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Focus - September 1997
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW CITIES OF COVINGTON AND MAPLE VALLEY
Washington State's two newest cities are Covington and Maple Valley, which incorporated on August 31, 1997. Both are code cities with a council-manager form of government. This brings the total number of incorporated cities and towns in Washington State to 277. MRSC has prepared information and publications on municipal incorporation, including the Municipal Incorporation Guide and The New City Guide.
STATE V. RIFE WARRANT CHECK DECISION
State v. Rife was decided 8/28/97 by the state supreme court. This decision holds that an officer temporarily detaining a person for a non-criminal traffic infraction has authority to do a driver's license record check but absent probable cause cannot detain an individual for a longer period of time in order to do a computer check to see if there are outstanding warrants. This decision has received considerable attention, and may result in a legislative amendment to authorize routine warrant checks whenever an officer stops a vehicle for a traffic infraction. See update below.
LEGISLATURE FIXES THE STATE v. RIFE WARRANT CHECK PROBLEM
On September 17th the legislature met and passed legislation (House Bill 3902) which should resolve the problem caused by the State v. Rife decision.
LID PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES
Find out about the nuts and bolts of local improvement district practices and procedures in this paper by Lee Voorhees of Foster Pepper and Shefelman. Voorhees reviews special benefit assessment financing, financing alternatives for public improvements, the assessment financing process, and crucial decisions to consider from the outset as well as an outline of local improvement district procedures in Washington cities. For additional details about LIDs, see the LID procedural outline prepared by MRSC.
GOOD NEWS REGARDING CATV FRANCHISE FEES
On July 31, 1997, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit struck down the Federal Communication Commission's decision in the City of Baltimore rate proceeding and ruled that for the purposes of section 622 (b) of the Cable Act, the "gross revenues" of a cable operator includes the revenue it collects from subscribers in order to pay the cable operator's franchise fee. If you have questions concerning this issue, contact either Jim Doherty, legal consultant, or Judy Cox, public finance consultant, at MRSC.
WEB SIGHTINGS
For a good basic overview of county government, the National Association of Counties has developed a page on county characteristics, the basic forms of county government, financing county government, and more. Another page we've discovered is by the American Local Power Project: A national network for local communities. It includes information on the local impacts and options associated with the deregulation of the electrical industry.
DESIGN TECHNIQUES
Crime prevention design offers a low cost alternative that reduces the opportunity for crime and the need for expensive fortification measures. This edited excerpt from Infill Development: Strategies for Shaping Livable Neighborhoods discusses techniques used by cities across the country which have been effective in the war against crime.
CITY LIABILITY FOR INJURIES AT SKATEBOARD PARKS
During the 1997 session, the legislature adopted SSB 5254 which amended the recreational user statute, RCW 4.24.210, to expand covered activities by adding "skateboarding or other nonmotorized wheel-based activities, hanggliding, paragliding." This means that the cities will not be held responsible for injuries sustained by skateboarders or inline skaters at skateboard parks operated by the city as long as: (1) a fee is not charged for use of the skateboard park; and (2) conspicuous signs are posted to warn of any known dangerous, artificial, latent conditions. This legislation was effective on July 27, 1997.
MRSC WELCOMES NEW STAFF TO ASSIST COUNTIES
MRSC is pleased to announce that Marya J. Silvernale, legal consultant, and Tom Sutberry, public policy/finance consultant, have joined the MRSC team to assist in providing services to counties. Marya has over 12 years of experience with the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorneys Office Civil Division. Tom served Whatcom County for 12 years as Administrative Services Director and Budget Director. Please join us in welcoming Marya and Tom.
DID YOU KNOW?
Can public buildings be used for candidate forums? Get the answer to this and other frequently asked questions on election and campaign issues prepared in anticipation of the fall election season.